Who cares if its shorter? It's got vents on the top, therefore you can't take advantage of the extra vertical space by stacking things on top. It's a stupid design.

As for your glass desk, 10 seconds of critical thinking will reveal a few cheap and easy solutions for you. If you want to spread the weight of your case over a larger area, simply put something between the case and the desk. A hardwood cutting board, for example, will spread the weight over a larger area. Or move the computer off the desk entirely - place it on a pedestal next to the desk.

Or just get rid of the silly glass desk. If the desk isn't suitable for the task at hand i.e. supporting your computer equipment, why don't you replace the desk with a more suitable one? Seems silly to re-architect your computer over a crappy made in china glass desk.